Review: Thus Defiled – 'A Return To the Shadows'

THUS DEFILED
'A Return To The Shadows'
SELF-RELEASED

25 years is an important milestone for any band, no matter how frequently they release albums or if there has been a hiatus in that time. If a band can still come together after a quarter of a century and create great music together, then that is worth celebrating. This is obviously what UK black metal veterans had in mind for their latest EP 'A Return To The Shadows'. Last year saw them condense an impressive legacy into a greatest hits collection, and this year's release see's them revisit some of their favourite cuts from their formative years.

The single original track, 'Armagedda In Rapture', opens the EP in typically bombastic Thus Defiled Fashion. A slow sinister introduction reminiscent of 'Of Shadow And Storm' erupts into a cacophony of searing guitars, blasting drums and demonic vocals which hints at great things to come. Cover song number one sees the band take on 'Evil Dead' by Death which capture the ferocity of the original but filters it through Thus Defiled's own unmistakable style.

Next up is Metallica's 'Creeping Death' with backing vocals provided by Donn Donni of Versprian Sorrow which gives a nice twist to the usual vocal attack employed by the band. A hellacious cover of Morbid Angel's 'Demon Seed' is up next with lead vocals taken up by Mike Browning of Morbid Angel/Nocturnus, which again adds a nice twist to the band's sound. Finally the EP closes with W.A.S.P.'s 'Hellion' which see's the band's attack return tot he thrashier end of their sound but altogether remains on point with the rest of the EP.

In terms of production it's great to see the band re-uniting with 'Daemonspawn' producer Tim Bartlett, who keeps true to the classic Thus Defiled sound. There are one or two points where the guitars seem to swamp the vocals or themselves sound a little muffled. But other than that it's a solid extreme metal sound throughout.

Covers albums/EPs are not to everyone's taste, but this one comes from a good place. To celebrate the music they love with the fans that support them. Dedicated to Chuck Schuldiner (Death), Cliff Burton (Metallica), and of course Grant Saunders (Thus Defiled) it is a heartfelt and passionate release that sees the band on brilliant form  

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Review: Thus Defiled – 'An Unhallowed Legacy'

THUS DEFILED
'An Unhallowed Legacy'
SHADOWFLAME PRODUCTIONS

Between 1992 and 2007 British black metal act Thus Defiled kept the hellfire stoked in the infernal underground scene. A slew of album and EP releases favouring a belligerent and bestial black metal that owed as much to the likes of Venom and Bathory as it did to their contemporaries, saw them gain coveted support slots across Europe.

Yet just as the band looked to be on the threshold of a big push through, silence followed. Fast-forward to 2016 and the Daemonspawn return with the re-release of their classic EPs 'A Darker Beauty' and 'Fire Serpent Dawn', plus a new release on the horizon and Thus Defiled are very much back. What better way to return than with a long-overdue retrospective compilation album pulling together their strongest tracks so far.

The band's career may have been somewhat overshadowed due to their unfortunate hiatus, but the fire still burns brightly on their older material. Songs such as 'Eden Stand's Aflame', 'Of Shadow And Storm', 'Beyond The Seventh Circle Of File', and 'Fire Serpent Dawn' sound utterly bombastic as bludgeoning blastbeats frame scathing guitars and shredded vocals in an unrelenting barrage of thrash-tinged black metal. While earlier cuts 'Ebony Thorns Embrace' and 'A Darker Beauty' are laced with gothic atmospherics and doomy undertones to add a dramatic slant to the brutality.

As most with compilations, the production does vary from track-to-track with noticeable jumps in quality between the band's earlier and later output. But despite a few rough edges here and there the songs hold their own throughout and have stood the test of time pretty well.

'An Unhallowed Legacy' may be a brief introduction to Thus Defiled, but it is nonetheless effective. The songs still sound powerful today and would easily form the core of any live set the band would play today. If you missed them first time round, this is a good primer for what is a very welcome rebirth in the British black metal scene.  

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